Something New Under the Sun
by Ladroitte
Summary: Marinette has been in one bad relationship after another. Every time her heart has been broken, she has gone to the one person who's always been willing to mend it together - Chat Noir, who completely adores her alter ego. But what happens when the one who breaks her heart also happens to be the man behind the mask? (Pre-reveal)
1. Wonder Boy

He'd learnt how to see it in her eyes. He could see it in the way that they glistened in the moonlight; the way that her lashes clumped together from the moisture; the way that she averted her gaze when he turned his head to look at her. Usually, he could see her emotions clearly on her face—anger if it was a cheater, indignation if it was a liar, and disappointment in all other cases—but tonight, her eyes were only tired.

'M'lady?' he asked, jumping down from the railing he'd been balancing on.

With a fleeting glance at his face, his red-clad superhero companion treaded up to him, reaching up with one hand to stroke a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

'I thought I'd find you here,' she replied in a taut voice.

'No one's been akumatised,' he murmured, and the implication was clear. The second the last word left his lips, he regretted it.

Ladybug let out an amused breath, one corner of her mouth twitching almost imperceptibly. 'I know I'm predictable,' she admitted, her voice quivering.

Almost subconsciously, he took a step towards her. 'No, no! That's not what I—'

'It's okay, Chat. We both know why I'm here.' She walked past him and leaned forward to rest her elbows against the railing. As he turned around, the wind caught hold of her pigtails and revealed her neck to him. He swallowed. Yes. He knew. He never dared to assume anything, but now that she had confirmed it herself, he suddenly felt a nervous shiver.

 _Why the hell am I nervous?_ he prodded himself. _It's not like this is anything new under the Sun._

'The view is pretty nice,' he acknowledged as he walked up to join her. She may have sighed at that comment, but it really was. From the top floor of the Eiffel Tower, they could see the entirety of Paris stretching out around them. It was a clear night, too, so the lights from the stars and the city twinkled in unison. There was a reason he used to come here on nights like this.

'I know,' she agreed, 'but I can't really see it right now.'

Chat gave her a sideways glance, watching her as she let her eyes unenthusiastically slide across the landscape. 'You want to talk about it?'

She hesitated. 'I don't know.'

'You're acting… different,' he commented.

'Yeah, well,' she sighed, 'things _are_ different this time.'

He turned back to look at the view. He may not be the awkward, unsocialised teen boy he'd been a couple of years ago, but he still wasn't comfortable in these situations. He didn't know what was acceptable to say and what was not, and he didn't want to make Ladybug feel worse than she already did. So he went quiet and hoped that she would explain on her own.

Eventually, she turned around and sat back against the railing, letting her head fall back and staring up at the sky.

'He's someone I hadn't seen in years,' she began. 'Not since middle school.'

'… And now you've hooked up?' Chat asked when she didn't continue right away.

'No,' she said quietly. 'We haven't.' She let out another sigh. 'And maybe that's the problem.'

He glanced at her again, uncertain of her meaning. 'Sorry?'

Ladybug shuffled her feet as she straightened her neck, staring down into the floor instead of the sky. 'You know, he's the one that got away. The one that started this whole mess for me.' He watched as she repeatedly kicked the toes on her right foot into the floor. 'I had a huge crush on him, but I was too much of a wimp to do anything about it.'

'You mean Wonder Boy?' Chat asked. 'I think you told me about him way back.'

She scoffed. 'Wonder Boy,' she mused. 'Well, he's been upgraded to Man now, but there's no less Wonder about him. He's hot and successful, as expected.'

Chat looked away, doing his best not to show that her words hurt him. _Hot and successful. Of course he is._

'All he has to do is look at me and I melt into a puddle,' Ladybug continued anxiously. 'Literally nothing has happened between us, but it still feels like my heart has been trampled by a giant horde of elephants.'

'Did he hurt you?'

She shook her head. 'No. Not knowingly, at least. He just… exists. That seems to be enough.'

Out of the corner of one eye, he saw her turn to look at him. He pretended not to notice.

'I just want to try to forget about him,' she murmured. 'And you're always so good at making me forget.'

Chat's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't help glancing shily at her. _Damn it Agreste, you're a cat, not a chicken. Why do you always have to be like this?_

'I-I'd do anything for you, m'lady,' he mumbled as he turned towards her. She only had to take two steps to reach him, and then she was in his arms, burying her face into his chest. He swallowed and wrapped his arms around her petite frame. She was small, but by no means was she weak. He knew she was a bundle of muscles under that ladybug-patterned suit. Not that he'd ever seen her without it, of course.

She inhaled deeply before pulling back a little to look up into his eyes. And oh god, she had _beautiful_ eyes, so beautiful that his breath hitched. But he didn't get the chance to stare into them for much longer, because then Ladybug closed them as she grabbed hold of his head and pulled him down towards her. He parted his lips, letting out a small huff of air that turned into vapor between them. His hands trembling, he let his hands move up to her biceps, stroking her arms as Ladybug's lips finally met his.

Chat closed his eyes as well, going on instinct as he fell face first into the kiss. Her lips were _so soft_ they were almost non-existent, and he thought to himself that he could just as well have been kissing a cloud—a smooth, warm, _very_ _willing_ cloud. Ladybug sighed softly against his lips, and he was sure he could even feel her relax into him, her grip of his head loosening while his hold of her arms only hardened. The wind roared around them, so he pulled her even closer to keep her warm.

He carefully parted her lips. When their tongues met, she pressed herself so close to him that he worried she would be able to feel certain parts of him through the leather of his suit. He tried to squirm away, but she pushed back towards him so hard that he nearly fell back over the railing. His heart was racing. _Why,_ he thought to himself, _must she be so stubborn? Why does she have to go and date guys who are so obviously bad for her?_

Although this time, she hadn't even dated him. Apparently, simply seeing him had been enough.

Wonder Boy. Of course he remembered—how could he forget the guy who had been Ladybug's first love? How could he forget the guy whose greatness overshadowed Chat's tenfold? He'd thought he'd be cleared of Wonder Boy for good when Ladybug and he had quit middle school, but no, apparently the guy had come back to haunt him once more.

Ladybug pulled away a millimetre or two. 'Chat,' she whispered against his lips.

'Y-yeah?' he breathed, opening his eyes to see her looking up at him. Her eyes were glistening with tears.

'Thank you… Thank you for always being so kind to me,' she whispered, pulling back some more to dry her eyes. 'Even though I'm… always using you like this. It's not fair of me… But still you allow it.'

Chat blinked at her slowly, trying to decide what to reply. For some reason, Ladybug smiled through her tears.

'I heard slow blinking means "I love you" in cat-speak,' she snivelled. Chat immediately blushed.

'W-well I-I—' He paused, taking a deep breath while Ladybug smiled benevolently. _Calm the heck down, Agreste!_ _You can be way smoother than this!_ 'Well,' he tried again, forcing a smirk, 'seems like you've fur-gured out my secret, Bugaboo.' _Um. I said_ _ **smooth**_ _, you dumb-ass._

Ladybug chuckled, her body shaking in his arms. 'Dork,' she snorted.

Chat looked down at her fondly as she tried to stop laughing. _If you only knew, Ladybug._

Rubbing her eyes free from tears, she took a step back, leaving a disappointed cat in her wake. 'Really though,' she said, 'I really am sorry. I shouldn't be doing this again… not when I know how you feel about me.'

'Pssh, I'm cool,' he assured her with another smirk, leaning back with one elbow against the railing. 'It's just a matter of time before you fall for me, hard.'

'If you're not careful, _you'll_ be the one to fall hard,' she replied, eyeing the railing.

'I'm a cat, Bugaboo.' He winked. 'I always land on my feet.'

Ladybug rolled her eyes as she walked up next to him, jumping up to stand on the railing. 'I hope you're keeping count on how many lives you have left, kitty,' she said, bringing out her yo-yo.

'You leaving?' Chat asked in badly veiled disappointment.

'Yeah.' She hesitated, glancing back at him for a second. 'I'm going to do what I should have done years ago.' Then she swung her yo-yo far into the distance, pulling at its string to launch herself off the edge of the Eiffel Tower's top floor. Chat sighed, watching as she shrunk to a red dot before disappearing behind a building far away.

* * *

Twenty-seven minutes later, he expertly slid in through an open window into his flat, de-transforming mid-jump. Plagg was launched out of his ring so hard that he collided with the wall next to the desk.

'EOWCH! Watch it!' he exclaimed as he slid down to the floor.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, smiling apologetically at his kwami. 'Sorry, Plagg.' A blinking light out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention, and he spun to see that it was his phone, lying where he'd left it on the coffee table earlier. A small, green light told him that he had new messages.

'Hey, kid, where's my Camembert?'

'I think there's some in the drawer,' Adrien replied absent-mindedly as he walked up to his phone. He unlocked it and saw that he had an unread text message from Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Frowning, he opened the app.

 **23:17 Marinette:** Hey Adrien! It was really nice seeing you today.

Adrien sat down on the edge of his bed, re-reading the short message several more times. It _had_ been nice seeing Marinette again. It'd just been a short meeting—she'd literally walked into him when he was on his way to a shoot, and while she'd been apologetic even before she realised who he was, as soon as recognition had hit her, she'd turned redder than a tomato. They hadn't had much more than a few minutes to talk, and those minutes had been filled with awkward small-talk. He hadn't thought about Marinette for years, but the moment he'd seen her there, flustered on the pavement, he'd instantly been hit with the realisation that he was dying to know what her life looked like nowadays. So he'd asked her if she wanted to grab a coffee someday. She'd stared at him like he was a hula dancing dinosaur.

'I-I-I, um, er,' she'd giggled nervously, 'I don't… I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, um… I'm really busy these days. Sorry.'

His smile had practically melted off him. He'd thought she'd tried to come up with an excuse not to hang out with him, but then why would she send him a message now? And this late at night, too?

 **23:29 Adrien:** Hey there! Yeah, it was. What are the odds of _literally_ running into each other like that?

It was a stupid response, but at least it was something. And he could already see her typing back.

 **23:30 Marinette:** Haha, I know. So, I was just looking through my calendar and I realised I actually have a few spaces this week. You still want to take that coffee?

 **23:30 Adrien:** Sure. Just name a time and place. :)

 **23:31 Marinette:** How about 14.00 tomorrow, at Nancy's downtown?

 **23:31 Adrien:** Make that 14.30 and I'm game.

 **23:31 Marinette:** Great! It's a date!

 **23:31 Marinette:** I mean, not a date-date. Obviously.

 **23:32 Adrien:** :)

'What are you grinning at?'

Adrien looked up from the screen of his phone and flinched when he saw Plagg less than a decimetre away from his face.

'Whoa! What the hell, Plagg?!'

The kwami tried to take a peek at the screen, but Adrien tilted it away from him. 'The way your mouth is splitting your face, it's almost like Ladybug just asked you to marry her or something.'

Adrien's smile immediately evaporated. He fell back on his bed with a groan, covering his eyes with his right arm. 'Ladybug,' he murmured.

'Oh, come on, kid. She's not dead, is she?'

'Would have been better if she was,' Adrien muttered. Then he sat up straight faster than fast, wide eyes staring at Plagg. 'I didn't mean that,' he exclaimed.

The kwami just rolled his eyes and left to get more cheese from the drawer. Adrien looked down at his phone again, one corner of his mouth twitching when he re-read "not a date-date". He'd missed Marinette, and he was really relieved she didn't seem to actually hate him. He looked forward to that coffee. Maybe it could get his mind off Ladybug for a while. After all, if she kept going to Chat Noir to drown her sorrows in stolen kisses, why shouldn't he be allowed to do the same with Marinette Dupain-Cheng?

He paused. Kissing Marinette? No. That would be weird. After all, they were just friends.

He'd settle with a friendly coffee.


	2. Archeologia

**10:37 Adrien:** Something got in the way of our coffee date. I'm SO sorry. :(

She read the message one more time. _Date. Date. Date. He said date. HE FREAKING CALLED IT A DATE!_ Did he actually see it as a date, or was he just making fun of her for accidentally calling it that yesterday? Argh.

Not that it mattered much now, seeing that he'd cancelled it, whatever "it" was. While part of her was so relieved she wanted to cry, she was also disappointed. Not in Adrien—in herself. Yes, sure, she had been a nerve-wreck the entire night and morning thinking about the coffee, but SHE NEEDED TO DO THIS. She knew she did. If she backed out now… How would she ever be able to look Chat in the eye? She couldn't return to him with tear-filled eyes again. She simply couldn't. She had to come up with a solution to this, and fast.

 **10:38 Marinette:** You're in luck – I'm free tonight. Want to exchange the coffee for a glass of wine?

She was going out on a limb. She didn't know if he drank wine, let alone alcohol. And she was absolutely positive that if he backed out again, she would die on the spot. Then again, she would probably die if he said yes, too. But it was worth a shot.

But WHY was he taking SO LONG to answer? Two minutes had already passed. Either he was ignoring her, or—

 **10:40 Adrien:** I'm in.

* * *

No matter how many times she washed her hands, she never seemed to get rid of her sweaty palms. Why that was, she had no idea. She couldn't remember when she'd last suffered from that particular affliction. If ever, it had probably been back in middle school, around a certain Mr. Agreste. And she was not talking about the fashion designer, though he had admittedly been something of an idol, too.

She'd agreed to meet Adrien at a bar just a few blocks from her flat, telling herself that she had no expectations whatsoever. It was just a friendly meet-up with an old classmate from middle school. She totally wasn't picturing the two of them ending up naked in her bed. Nuh-uh. And she _definitely_ hadn't bought condoms for the occasion. She'd just realised out of the blue that she was out, and it was always good to be prepared, right?

Besides, she wasn't the type of girl to ignore opportunities. If—and that was a giant IF—she found that Adrien was interested in something more, she wouldn't screw it up. Regardless of how scared she was, she would be brave and go with the flow.

Of course, that was easier thought than done, so when she arrived outside the bar and caught sight of a blond head through one of the windows, she almost bolted. Luckily, he saw her before she had the chance. As he shot a glance over his shoulder, most certainly looking for her, his gaze caught on to her eyes and one corner of his mouth turned upwards into a crooked smile. _God damn it,_ Marinette thought to herself as she pushed open the door and entered the hot bar. _I'm off to a good start. TOO good._

She wasn't sure whether to shake his hand or give him a hug, but he took care of it by immediately pulling her into his arms. It was a light, friendly hug, but it still made her heart gallop crazily. When he pulled away, her eyes were as wide as saucers.

'Hey, um, hello, A-Adrien!' she exclaimed with an awkward grin. He grinned back.

'Hi, Marinette. I got us a table by the window.'

She followed him over to a cozy little table right in the corner, giving them a secluded space in the otherwise crowded bar. It was indeed by the window, and Marinette would probably have been able to see all the way to her flat if she'd pressed her cheek against the pane. She resisted the impulse.

Adrien pulled out one of the chairs for her. She sat, blushing violently.

'Do you want me to get you something?' he asked with a friendly smile.

'Really, Adrien, you don't have to—'

He arched an eyebrow.

'—but if you _do_ want to get me something, I prefer sweet white wine.'

'Got it,' he said and disappeared back towards the bar.

Marinette tried to relax. She didn't know how this night would end. All she knew was that she wasn't going to wuss out again. If nothing spectacular happened, that was fine. But if she saw the slightest hint of interest from Adrien's side… She'd grab it like a shark in bloodied water.

She cringed at the simile. Maybe it wasn't the most fitting one. But the important thing wasn't whether she was a shark or something else—it was whether she _seized the day_ or not.

Adrien returned with two glasses of white wine and set one of them down in front of Marinette before taking a seat on the other side of their table.

'How much was it?' Marinette asked, bringing out her phone to jot down the price. Adrien shook his head.

'It's my treat.'

She paused with her hand in the pocket of her jacket. Was… was that a hint? Should she view that as a hint?

This was going to be an incredibly difficult night.

'How's your day been?' he asked, taking a sip from his glass. Marinette returned her hand to the table and did the same, shaking her shoulders in another attempt to relax.

'Well, you know, the usual,' she replied casually, though it had been everything but. She'd been in one long, sustained state of panic through-out the entirety of her day. Only now was she starting to calm down, and that was probably just because she couldn't escape any longer.

Adrien hummed thoughtfully, watching her over the rim of his glass. 'What are you up to these days?'

She gulped down some more wine. _Take effect, now, please._ 'I'm a fashion designer.'

He raised his eyebrows at that. 'Wow, really?'

'Um, no, er, I mean—' She inhaled sharply. '—I'm just freelancing a bit. Nothing big yet, but enough to pay the rent.'

'And you're enjoying it? I mean, that's the most important thing.'

'Yeah… Yeah, I am.' She cocked her head to one side, studying Adrien as he cast down his eyes for a moment. He was still the same boy that she'd known in middle school, yet he was totally different. Regarding his looks, those had matured like a fine wine. His blond hair was shorter than it used to be, but it was still unruly in that exciting way that had always made her want to draw her hand through it. He had broader shoulders and harder shapes, as far as she could see, but then again, that was only natural. He wouldn't stay the thin teenage boy forever.

She would admit it out loud over her dead body, but she _had_ seen one or two pictures of Adrien as an underwear model. (She _totally_ didn't have them saved on her hard-drive. Pinky swear.) Anyway, she knew from those pictures that his body was well-sculpted, which wasn't strange considering that—as far as she knew—he was still fencing and playing basketball in his spare time. Maybe he'd started going to the gym, too.

'Do… Do you like modelling?' she asked carefully. He looked up at her, rubbing his neck with an embarrassed smile.

'Um, I guess,' he replied. 'It's all I know.'

Marinette had always been confused that a model could be so shy. Especially now that he modelled in freaking _boxers,_ he should be confident, shouldn't he?

'You're certainly good at it,' she blurted out before she could process her intentions. Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened, but Adrien just laughed—a warm, whole-hearted laughter.

'Thanks,' he smiled. 'I don't know if I'll keep doing it for the rest of my life, but it's something to fall back on, at least. Until I figure out what it is that I really want.'

'Sounds wise,' she nodded, taking another sip of her wine. 'I wish I had modelling to fall back on.'

He sighed. 'Being a model isn't as glorious as it may seem.'

She swallowed. 'Yeah, of course… I wouldn't know.' _God damn it, I've ruined everything now, haven't I?_

'But you do have the looks, so I'm convinced it wouldn't be hard for you to get a foot in the door if you really wanted to.'

Marinette froze, staring unseeingly at Adrien's suddenly blurry face. _Did he… did he just say that he thinks I'm good-looking?_ Her palms were getting slippery again.

'I'm sorry, Marinette, that was weird of me,' Adrien hurried to say. 'I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.'

'No, no,' she laughed, nervously scratching her neck, 'I… Thanks. But I don't think I'd like it very much.'

He gave her a sad smile. 'Yeah, I don't blame you.'

Marinette stared down into her wine. This wasn't going well. Not well at all. She was obviously making Adrien feel bad by forcing him to think of his job. What could she do to save this?

'So, do you have any idea what it is that you really want to do?' she asked, hoping it would spark more positive feelings.

Adrien glanced at her before turning his gaze up to the ceiling, seemingly thinking about what to answer. 'I think… I might try acting.'

Now it was Marinette's turn to raise her eyebrows in surprise. 'Oh? I didn't know you were interested in that.'

His gaze returned to her eye level. 'Yeah… It's a silly idea, I think. But I've kind of gotten a hang of it over the years.' Instantly, his face turned red and he blinked rapidly at her. 'Er, I mean, in front of the camera!'

She stared at him. 'I guess it is kind of like acting, huh.'

She watched him down a big gulp of wine. 'Mhm-hm,' he agreed as he swallowed. 'Sure is.'

'I've done some acting, too,' she shared, catching an interested look from Adrien. 'In my spare time.'

'Really? Did you like it?'

She smiled and nodded, thinking of swinging around the city of Paris as Ladybug. 'I do. It can be a great relief, sometimes, to get to be someone else for a while.'

He exhaled. 'Yeah, I can relate to that…'

'When you're acting, it's like you get to try on another person's life. You can leave all your baggage behind and just… pretend that things are fine.'

Adrien gave her a worried look. 'You OK, Mari?'

She swallowed. The way he called her by her nickname made something break inside her. She couldn't decide if it was a good thing or not.

'I'm fine,' she said sincerely. 'It's just…' She sighed, pausing to take a sip of her wine. 'I've gone through a lot of toxic relationships lately.'

 _Why are you telling him this? Letting Adrien know how screwed your love life is isn't exactly going to make him want to jump into bed with you._

His worried frown deepened. 'Do you want to talk about it?'

Marinette pursed her lips and stared into her glass. '… Yeah. Sure.'

And so she ended up telling Adrien Agreste, the love of her adolescent life, all about the failed relationships she'd been through in the past years. She told him about the cheaters, the liars and the a-holes. She told him about being treated like a piece of meat instead of like a human being. She told him that she never seemed to learn, always seemed to find the absolute worst guys again and again. And through all of it, he listened attentively, nodding and humming in the appropriate places, sometimes frowning or grimacing at the details. When she felt like she was a full waste basket that had been turned upside down and shaken until all her contents poured out, she stopped and looked at him with an embarrassed smile on her lips.

'So… There you have it,' she said quietly. 'The not-so glamorous truth.'

He gave her a long, thoughtful look. 'I'm really sorry you had to go through all of that, Marinette.'

She swallowed and lowered her gaze to her glass, which was empty even though Adrien had gone to refill it twice. 'I think my experiences are starting to make me into a cynic.'

'Starting to? If I was in your place, I would've gone cynical months ago.' He widened his eyes when he realised what he'd just said. 'I'm not saying—'

'It's cool,' she assured him. 'I know I'm pathetic to keep hoping for change. I'm obviously a magnet for bad guys.'

Adrien was silent for a moment. She didn't dare to look up. _This was a mistake. I should never have said anything. He'll never want me now._

'Marinette,' he suddenly began in a soft voice. She wasn't even looking at him, and she was still blushing like crazy.

'Mhm?'

'You're not pathetic,' he continued. 'You've had bad luck, but I'm sure you'll eventually meet a good guy that you'll fall in love with. Maybe he's already in your life, and you just don't know it.'

Slowly, she lifted her gaze. Adrien was giving her a small, soft smile. She swallowed. _Yeah,_ she thought, _you_.

'In the meantime,' he continued while getting up and grabbing her glass, 'why not get a little drunk?'

She smiled at him, but it faded as soon as he turned his back to her. With a sigh, she massaged her temples. So far, this night had gone nothing like she'd wanted it to… even though she'd had no expectations. _Damn it, who am I kidding, of course I had expectations! I want Adrien, I want him so badly, I want to push him up against a wall and kiss him so hard he loses his breath, and then I want to tear off his clothes, ripping the buttons of his shirt off in the process._

But if she ever wanted that to happen, she needed to up her game. She needed to stop being such a depressed person. She needed to be happy, amazing Marinette, and she needed to take Adrien by storm.

* * *

Two glasses later, she had her arm hooked in Adrien's, leading him home to her flat.

Taken out of context, that sentence might have made her nose bleed. But as it was, there really wasn't anything special about it—not yet, anyway. He'd simply offered to follow her home. No promises of making sweet love to her, or even granting her a chaste kiss… just a gentleman following his friend home.

Of course, she wouldn't give up without a fight. So on the way—which was short, considering that she'd been able to see her flat from the bar—she made sure to be as appealing to him as possible. The alcohol in her body had suppressed most of her shyness, so she had no problem flirting recklessly with her crush. She giggled at his jokes, she played with her hair, she touched him whenever she got the chance. And she was pretty sure that it had an effect on him.

His cheeks were a permanent, healthy pink, although maybe that had to do with the alcohol he'd drunk and not with her. But he _was_ smiling a lot, and he kept making these silly jokes that felt familiar somehow. In short, she felt optimistic again.

'Is this your door?' he asked, nodding towards what was indeed the door up to her flat.

'Yep,' she replied lightly. Then she looked up at him from beneath her lashes, one corner of her mouth pulled up in a mischievous smirk. _This is it. Don't chicken out!_ 'Do you… want to see my flat?'

 _Oh my god, that's a stupid question! Why couldn't you have just asked if he wanted to come up and ravish you?_

Adrien laughed, though she wasn't sure what the joke was. 'No, I need to get back home. You'll make it upstairs on your own, right?'

Her smile faded and she averted her gaze. 'Yeah, 'course I do… But…'

'But? Is something wrong?'

Marinette took a deep breath. _You get one more chance, Mari. Don't. Screw. This. Up._ Slowly, she turned back to him, this time with a serious gaze. He parted his lips when he saw the look on her face, but she didn't give him the chance to speak before her.

'I've had a great night,' she began.

'Me too,' he agreed with a slow nod, watching her cautiously as she took a step closer and brought her hands up to play with the lapels on his jacket.

'It's been _really_ nice seeing you again…' She grabbed hold of the zipper and pulled it down a few centimetres. Then she looked up into his eyes again. She thought she could hear his breath hitch. '… so nice I'm thinking maybe the night doesn't have to end just yet.'

He blinked at her. 'Mari—'

'I want you, Adrien,' she exclaimed a little too loudly without caring who heard her confession. 'I've liked you since middle school and it's turned almost unbearable since then. I want you so much.'

Carefully, Adrien covered her hands with his, effectively stopping her from pulling the zipper down any further. 'Mari, I'm flattered, I really am… And I really like you, but I can't give you anything more than friendship.'

Marinette swallowed. She couldn't bear to look at him, so she pulled away and spun around, feeling like her heart would explode in her chest. She didn't want him to continue, but he did anyway.

'You're an amazing girl,' he said softly. 'But… I'm in love with someone else, and—'

A violent rumble clipped him off. Marinette grabbed hold of the railing of the staircase to keep herself steady as the world shook around them. 'What—'

'Look!' Adrien exclaimed in disbelief. She spun back to face him and saw that he had his gaze fixed on something outside of the building. When the rumble paused, she ran up to him and looked out. Over by the bar, she saw a giant crack slowly opening up in the street, swallowing fire posts and trashcans as it widened. She turned her head to look at Adrien just as he did the same, his eyes wide in shock.

He pushed open the door, taking a few quick steps outside. Marinette followed, her embarrassment momentarily forgotten. The ground had stopped shaking and the crack in the street seemed to have stop widening, but now they could see what had caused it all.

At first, Marinette thought the woman standing by the crack was naked. Then, after giving her eyes a chance to analyse what it was that she saw, she realised that it wasn't actually skin she was seeing—it was _dirt_. The woman's body was wrapped in dirt and roots like a bodycon dress, and where her hair should be, there were long roots. Her feet even seemed to have merged with the ground, gray cobblestone climbing up over her toes and swirling around her ankles like stone shackles.

Marinette mentally filed the picture as an interesting idea for a future design.

'I am Archeologia,' the woman announced, and it was like her voice reverberated through the ground beneath them as she spoke. 'And you will all bow before me!'

She raised one foot and stomped it into the ground, making the world tremble around them. A crowd of people had gathered outside of the bar, and most of them now stumbled and fell to the ground, but Adrien caught Marinette as she lost her balance. His eyes were wide, but she could see his brain working behind them.

'Hey Marinette, will you be okay by yourself?'

She blinked at him. He still had his gaze fixed on the woman. 'Um, yeah! Yeah, of course! Why?' She mentally cursed herself for asking why. It didn't really matter why, as long as he left her alone.

He glanced at her. 'There's somewhere else I need to be.'

'Just steer clear of that thing, okay?'

For some reason, he smirked. 'I'll do what I can.' Then he released her, rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight.

She didn't even bother going up to her flat—she transformed inside the elevator, then ran out the back way to avoid being seen. After launching herself up on the roof of a nearby building with her yo-yo, she ran towards the scene by the bar, but "Archeologia" was no longer there. Ladybug ran along the rooftops until she heard a ruckus nearby. When she arrived by the entrance to the closest subway station, she caught sight of the akumatised woman making her way down underground. Ladybug jumped down onto the ground just as Chat Noir came running from another direction. They exchanged a quick look.

'M'lady,' Chat acknowledged her before following the woman down into the subway.

Ladybug couldn't help blushing as a flashback to last night by the Eiffel Tower slammed into her. She took a deep breath and shook it off, falling into step behind Chat. But halfway down the stairs, she somehow tripped over her own feet, and although she tried to regain her balance, she inadvertently ended up plunging right into Chat, bringing him down with her. They tumbled down the last couple of steps before coming to a halt with their limbs tangled on the ground, Chat's green cat eyes staring down at her from just a few centimetres above her face. He immediately jerked back and tried to get up again, but his foot was hooked around her ankle, and so he nearly fell back down. In the last moment, he caught himself against the railing. Still, his eyes peered down at her from above.

'LB, are you okay?' he asked in a worried voice, stretching out a hand to help her up. She ignored it, pushing herself up on her own. Then she turned her back to Chat and brushed off dirt from her suit.

'Damn it,' she exclaimed under her breath. _Why did I have all those glasses of wine?_

'Ladybug?'

She looked back at Chat over her shoulder. He was giving her a confused stare. Forcing a smile, she walked past him further underground.

'Come on,' she said through gritted teeth. 'We have an akuma to catch.'


	3. Amazing Girl

With his left arm supporting the woman previously known as Archeologia, Chat watched as Ladybug released the purified akuma and restored Paris to its uncracked glory. He watched her sigh heavily before swinging her yo-yo up towards a chimney and launch herself into the air.

'Ladybug!' he shouted, his eyes widening. 'Hold up!'

But she didn't hear him, or she ignored him, because when she reached the rooftop, she immediately started running. Chat turned to the woman, who had her face scrunched up in complete confusion. He gave her a quick once-over. No wounds, and nothing else seemingly out of place.

'I—I have to go,' he excused himself as he carefully let her down on a nearby bench before using his staff to launch himself after the other superhero. He could see her some distance away, jumping across rooftops faster than he'd ever seen her do before.

'Ladybug! Wait!' he yelled as he vaulted over the obstacles on the roof. He ran as fast as he could, but the fight—and the alcohol—had taken a toll on him. He was already feeling breathless. How would he ever be able to catch up with her? Not to mention that a beep from his ring told him that he was about to de-transform very soon.

 _Something is obviously wrong. She acted strange the entire time we fought Archeologia, she stumbled and missed and nearly fell off a building once, and what if she's badly hurt? What if she's ill? I can't leave before I've checked on her!_

So that's when, as Ladybug jumped off a building up ahead and disappeared down below, Chat somehow managed to speed up even further out of sheer fear for her safety.

Breathing heavily, he landed on the ground close to where he'd last seen Ladybug, and then—after making sure that he had at least one minute left as Chat Noir—he walked around the corner into a side alley.

'Ladyb—'

' _Don't look!'_

Instantly, he closed his eyes. 'I'm not looking! Have you… have you de-transformed?'

He heard a deep sigh. 'Did you see me?' she asked.

'No,' he replied sincerely. 'Ladybug, are you okay? You took off so quickly, I just wanted to make sure—'

'I'm fine,' came the cold reply. 'Now leave me alone.'

That made him pause. She'd been dismissive many times before, but never like this. Could he really leave her in this state?

'I just—'

'I don't want to talk to you, I don't want to hear youtalk, I don't even want to see you,' she interrupted him angrily, 'so get the hell out of here, Chat!'

His heart almost stopped, his next words suddenly stuck in his throat. Somewhere far away, he heard a familiar beep. His feet started backing away on their own. _I… I don't…_

He felt a tingling feeling go through his body, and the remaining power left him in an instant. His legs wobbled so badly he collapsed on the ground, still keeping his eyes closed despite his exposed state.

'Don't,' he started quietly, but didn't bother going on. Instead, he just sighed. What did it matter if she saw him? Right now, nothing seemed to matter.

'Just leave already, Cha—'

Her exclamation was cut off abruptly with a sharp intake of breath. Then everything was silent. Adrien swallowed.

'Ladybug?'

He heard the sound of footsteps, but couldn't discern whether they were coming closer or going farther away.

'No,' Ladybug breathed, 'no, it can't… It can't be _you_.'

Okay, now his heart _definitely_ stopped. She'd seen him. His civilian form. And she _recognised_ him. Was it because his face and body were plastered all over Paris, or did she actually know him?

'It _is_ me,' he said in a frustrated voice. He was dying to open his eyes, but would never do it against Ladybug's wishes. 'It's always been me. And I don't know what that means for you, but if it's a disappointment, I'm sorry.'

'Adrien…'

'However,' he continued, 'I don't care that you know who I am. I don't care that you've seen me and I haven't seen you, I just need to know that you're really, truly okay, because I'm worried as all hell and I _refuse_ to leave before I know without a shadow of a doubt that everything's all right.'

He heard her let out a deep sigh, and then a shaky sob. He drew for air.

'Ladybug, please—'

'Give me a moment,' she begged in a thick voice. He fell silent.

The next minute might have been the worst in his entire life. He had to endure listening to Ladybug crying and snivelling, forced to keep his mouth shut when everything he wanted was to console her. But he wasn't going to do anything she didn't want him to, even if it meant that he had to sit still and listen as the love of his life cried her heart out.

Finally, he couldn't take any more of it.

'Ladybug,' he pleaded, 'please, let me help. Why are you crying? Is it because of who I am?'

'No,' she sobbed. 'Yes. Argh!'

His heart sank even further. 'Why? What did I do? Have I…' He swallowed. 'Have I hurt you?'

She didn't answer right away. He heard a couple more sobs, and had to clench his hands into fists to not open his eyes and run up to pull her into his arms.

She snivelled once before inhaling deeply. 'Can you meet me in the tower at midnight? As Chat?'

'Of course,' he replied immediately. 'I'll do anything.'

'Thanks,' she said, and then the sobbing stopped as footsteps hurried away from him. He counted to ten before opening his eyes.

The alley was empty. For a second, he was almost convinced he had imagined it all, but then he saw another set of shoe prints beside his own. He sighed deeply, trying to relax his muscles. _Of all the ways I imagined that this moment would go, this definitely wasn't one of them._

'Ouch,' a familiar shrill voice said next to his ear. Adrien winced before realising—

'Did you see her?' he half-shouted at the kwami. 'Did you see Ladybug's true identity?'

Plagg hovered silently in the air for a moment, his face in deep thought. Adrien frowned. He'd never seen that look on Plagg's face before. It looked strange.

'Yes,' he said then.

'Do you know her? Do you know what it is that I've done to her?'

'Yes and yes,' the kwami said again.

Adrien swallowed. 'Is it bad?'

Plagg shrugged. 'How should I know? I'm just a kwami. I don't know anything about love. Hey, do you have any camembert?'

'Love? What do you mean?'

'I'm huuuungryyy,' Plagg complained.

'Ugh.' Adrien rolled his eyes. 'I have camembert at home. Come on.'

* * *

With a little less than an hour left to midnight, Adrien had way too much time to think. While Plagg munched on his camembert—mumbling and rolling his eyes from time to time as he watched his human—Adrien made a list of all the girls he could remember whose hearts he had broken through the years. It wasn't long, but there were a few that he was sure of, and he threw in some potential ones as well. Since Plagg had met the girl, it couldn't be just any fan that he'd gained as a model—it had to be someone he knew personally, or at least someone he had known _once._

So who could it be? There was Ebele, a classmate from high school who'd confessed her love to him in their third year, then abruptly moved to another city when he said she wasn't his type (to be fair, that was a pretty horrible thing to say). Then there was Sarah, a fellow model, who had started awful rumors about him after he told her he was taken (which had been a lie, but he didn't want to risk repeating what had happened with Ebele). Then, there was a girl whose name he didn't remember (which he was really ashamed of) and whom he'd happened to sleep with after a night with way too many glasses of wine. He'd left her asleep in the hotel room in the middle of the night, then changed his phone number so she couldn't reach him, just because he was so embarrassed of what had happened.

Then there were a handful of girls that he'd dismissed in much more gentlemanly ways. Of course, it could be any one of them.

And he tried to fit his own experiences into Ladybug's stories of the guys who had hurt her, but he couldn't find a match. So what had he done? Had she been hurt so badly by him that she hadn't even been able to tell Chat Noir about it?

Adrien sighed and burrowed his face in one of his pillows. 'This is hopeless,' he groaned into the fabric.

'Haven't you forgotten someone on this list?' Plagg asked. Adrien removed the pillow and gave his kwami a blank look.

'You tell me, Plagg,' he said bitterly.

Plagg shrugged, feigning ignorance. 'You're overthinking this.'

'What the hell am I supposed to do, just sit tight and wait for midnight?!'

'It's just five minutes.'

Adrien tensed. 'Wha—?' He shot a glance at his watch. It was indeed five to twelve. 'God damn it, Plagg!' Tripping over himself, he struggled to get out of bed before running up to his bedroom window. 'Claws out!'

* * *

Ladybug was already there when he arrived, leaning against the railing in the same place as last night. She didn't seem to hear him approach, so he called out to her.

'Ladybug.' He could've chosen any of the pet names he'd given her—LB, m'lady, Bugaboo—but none of them seemed right at the moment. If this was indeed a girl whose heart he had broken, he didn't want to act like he didn't care. He wanted to be serious for once. He needed to be Adrien tonight, not Chat Noir.

Ladybug turned to him, the wind playfully toying with her pigtails. 'Adrien.'

Despite the fact that he knew this would happen, his heart skipped a beat when she said his name. His name on Ladybug's lips… He'd never thought this day would come.

'Listen,' he began softly, 'Whatever I've done to you, I really, truly am sorry.'

'But you don't even know who I am,' she said matter-of-factly.

He stroked the back of his neck nervously. 'No, I guess I don't.'

Ladybug looked away. Parted her lips as if to speak, then closed them again. Then she sighed. 'You haven't actually done anything,' she mumbled.

He blinked at her in shock, relief already flooding him. 'I haven't?'

She fixed him with her gaze, and neither of them said anything for a long moment. His heart was beating at a dangerous pace.

Then, she almost gave him a heart attack when she started to come closer. He widened his eyes, but he allowed her to walk all the way up to him and stop only when her body was a mere decimetre from his. Her beautiful blue eyes looked up at him behind the red mask.

'You've always flirted with me as Chat,' she said. 'Why is that?'

'That's easy,' he replied. 'It's because I love you. I have loved you ever since the first day we met.'

'That sounds like a childish crush to me.'

His heart skipped a beat, and suddenly he was blushing. 'It's not childish.' _If my child had the kinds of thoughts I sometimes have about you, I would be a worried parent._

'What is it, then? If you've loved me since the first day we met, are you really in love with me? Or are you just in love with your _idea_ of me?'

'Now, wait a god damn minute,' he exclaimed, shaking his head. 'Don't you think I should know you by now, after eight years by your side? Don't you think my feelings would have faded eventually if it was just a childish crush?'

'But you don't even know who I am!' she half-shouted up at him, face angry. 'I thought _I_ knew _you_ , but you turned out to be someone completely else than I thought!'

'What are you trying to say here?' he asked in a frustrated voice.

Ladybug closed her eyes hard for a moment. When she opened them again, they were filled with tears. 'What if,' she whispered, 'what if you wouldn't love me if you knew the real me?'

He scowled. 'That's stupid,' he said softly, raising his right hand to stroke away a loose tear from her cheek. 'You're brave, and kind, and amazing, and I love each little part of you. I love your laugh, I love your smile, and I love the way you care about people even if you've never met them before. I love you when you're happy and I love you when you're sad. There's never been a moment that I haven't loved you, Ladybug, not a single one. To suggest that all of that suddenly wouldn't matter anymore just because I got to know _another_ part of you—because don't even try to convince me that _this_ part of you isn't real—that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.'

She stared at him with wide eyes, tears still glittering in the corners. 'Can you… Can you say that as Adrien?'

'Claws in,' he said without pause, closing his eyes for a moment as the transformation wore off. When he opened them again, he saw Ladybug flinch and look away. His heart sank. 'Are you sure I haven't hurt you?'

'I'm sure,' she muttered.

He hesitated. Then, carefully, he brought his hand to her chin and guided her face up to him again. He probably imagined the electricity going through his fingers as he touched Ladybug without any fabric separating them for the first time, but it felt no less real regardless.

When her blue eyes were once again looking into his, he started talking. 'I love you,' he murmured, his cheeks heating up. 'I've loved you for a long time, and I will love you for even longer.'

'Even without the mask?' she asked breathlessly.

' _Especially_ without the mask, I think,' he smiled.

In his hand, he felt her chin tremble. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, digging her gloved fingers into his hair. A pleasant shiver passed through him, and he closed his eyes, enjoying the moment.

That's why the kiss came so unexpectedly.

He exhaled sharply against her lips. He'd kissed Ladybug many times before, but this felt different. He felt exposed, no longer protected by his alter-ego, and as her naked fingers caressed his neck, he— _wait, hold on, naked fingers?!_ He fumbled for her hands, nearly fainting when he felt that they weren't gloved.

'Ladyb—'

'Ssh,' she hushed against his lips, intertwining her fingers with his.

A strong need came over him without warning; a need to be closer. He pushed her back against a nearby supporting pillar, releasing her hands to move his own up along her body. His fingers hitched on the edge of her shirt, and so he went in underneath, softly caressing the warm, naked skin right between her shirt and her trousers. He was rewarded with a sharp inhalation from Ladybug—no, from the girl he loved, whatever her name was. Her hands seemed to take inspiration from him, because they climbed up underneath his own shirt, up along his back. He sighed against her lips.

'You're great at this,' he breathed into her mouth.

'Less talking, more kissing,' she insisted, moving her hands to the front of his shirt so that she could pull him closer. To stop himself from stumbling forward, he took support with one hand against the pillar while the other climbed farther up underneath her clothing.

But then an unpleasant thought hit him. How did he know this wasn't just another frivolous kiss? He'd just confessed his love for her, but she hadn't done anything like it back at him. So what was this, then? Would it last?

Discouraged, he forced himself to pull back a little, jerking back his head when she tried to keep kissing him.

'Wait,' he breathed, keeping his eyes closed because he didn't know if she wanted him to see who she was.

'What is it?' she whispered back breathlessly.

'How... How do you feel about me?'

God, he felt so silly asking her that, but he couldn't keep going without knowing. It would destroy him if she only did this because of some kind of sudden impulse.

To his surprise, she let out a short laugh. 'Adrien… Chat… I've been in love with one of you for what feels like an eternity, and the other… I've stopped denying my feelings for him. Let's just say I've been conflicted lately, and it's all your fault.'

'Y-you've l-l-loved me for an eternity?' he stammered.

'You remember Wonder Boy?'

Adrien frowned. Why did she have to bring _that_ guy up all of a sudden? 'Um, yeah?'

He felt her lean in closer, letting out a hot breath by his ear. 'You're Wonder Boy, Adrien,' she whispered.

His eyes flew open, and as she pulled back again, her face came into view for the first time. Except it wasn't for the first time at all. In fact, he'd seen that very face just a couple of hours ago, across a table at a local bar.

'Marinette?!'

She shied away with her gaze. 'Uh-huh.'

His eyes darted across her face. 'Marinette—you—you're— _Ladybug?!_ '

'Does that disappoint you?' she whispered.

'Are you kidding me?' He pulled her closer, planting a kiss on her forehead before pulling back to look her in the eyes. He couldn't help grinning. 'You're not the only one who's had conflicting feelings. To be honest, I was _this close_ to agreeing to come with you upstairs.'

Marinette widened her eyes. 'You were?'

'I told you, you're an amazing girl,' he laughed. 'I just… It felt like a betrayal to Ladybug, but… Considering the circumstances…' He leaned in to kiss her throat, slowly working his way up until he reached the earring on her lobe. 'Tell me, what is it that you say to transform?' he breathed by her ear.

'Spots on,' she replied, then let out a surprised gasp. Adrien laughed as he pulled back and gazed into those ultra-blue eyes behind the mask.

'I don't think this is the safest place for a guy like me,' he said with a grin that he wanted to be mischievous but that probably ended up being shy. 'Maybe you should take me home?'

Her face quickly turned the colour of her suit and mask. 'T-t-t-take you home?'

'That is, if you want to, of course,' he reassured her, his smile fading as he became more insecure. She looked at him like he was the world's biggest idiot.

'I think that takes first prize for stupidest comment tonight,' she said before grabbing him around the waist and pitching her yo-yo out into the night.


End file.
